ELTS Letter Tenses

ELTS Letter Tenses
In this lesson we’ll take a look at using the right tenses in an

IELTS letter.
In the Task 1 for General Training, you are first told the situation.
In this sample, this is the situation:
You are going away to travel for the summer. A friend will
be looking after your house while you are away. Write a
letter to your friend.
You are then given three points that you must cover in the letter:
In your letter:
 Say where you are going

 Describe your house
 Explain some of the things your friend must do to
look after your house
In order to answer the letter successfully, you need to make sure that you use the right IELTS
letter tenses to fit the points.
We’ll break the letter now down into each of its parts to see how
tenses are used.
Remember that every letter is different. This lesson is just
showing which tenses are needed to this particular letter.
IELTS Letter Tenses

First Point:
Say where you are going:
As I mentioned to you I’m going to France for a vacation. I’ll be
getting the Ferry over to northern France where I’ll spend a few
days, and then I’m heading to Paris for the rest of the trip. I’ll be
staying with some friends there in the city most of the time. I’ll be
online and will have my phone so you can contact me any time.
Which tenses have been used?
You haven’t been to France yet. It’s something you are going to do later on, so you need to use
the future tense.
The future is phrases such as:
 Verb ‘to be’ + going to

 Verb ‘to be’ + verb + ing
 Will + infinitive
Take a look at the paragraph again. The future phrases have been highlighted.
Say where you are going:

getting the Ferry over to northern France where I’ll spend a few
days, and then I’m heading to Paris for the rest of the trip. I’ll
be staying with some friends there in the city most of the time. I’ll
be online and will have my phone so you can contact me any
time.
Second Point:
Here is the next part.
Describe your house:
My house is fairly small so it shouldn’t be a problem to look after it.
There’s an open plan kitchen/living room downstairs and then a
couple of bedrooms upstairs. You can sleep in the spare bedroom,
which is at the top of the stairs on the right. There’s also a small
garden which you can sit out in when it’s sunny.
When we describe something, it’s common to use the present
simple. If you look at the paragraph again you’ll see that most of it
is in the present.
Of course you’ll see other common words to describe the location
of things in a place such as ‘There’s an……downstairs’ or “….which
is at the top of the stairs”.
Third Point:
Now take a look at the last part:
Explain some of the things your friend must do to look
after your house:
The only things I’d like you to do are to make sure you put the bins
out on Tuesday night of the second week as they are collected
Wednesday morning. Also, if you could water all the plants once a
week it would be great. If you go out, please set the alarm as there
have been burglaries in the area recently (I’ll leave you the code by
the door).
In this last part you are giving instructions.
When you give instructions, advice, or orders, you should use
the imperative.
To do this we use the infinitive of the verb without ‘to’. They have
been highlighted in the next paragraph:
Explain some of the things your friend must do to look
after your house:
The only things I’d like you to do are to make sure you put the
bins out on Tuesday night of the second week as they are collected
Wednesday morning. Also, if you could water all the plants once
a week it would be great. If you go out, please set the alarm as
there have been burglaries in the area recently (I’ll leave you the
code by the door).
So to summarise, when you write your letter, make sure you
address each of the three points, but also think about
what tenses you may need for your IELTS letter.
Below are the full question and the full model answer
Full Model Answer

You are going away to travel for the summer. A friend will
be looking after your house while you are away. Write a
letter to your friend.
In your letter:
 Say where you are going

 Describe your house
 Explain some of the things your friend must do to
look after your house
Write at least 150 words

You do NOT need to write any addresses
Begin your letter as follows:
Dear……..,
Dear Debbie,
Hope you are doing well.
Thanks again for helping to look after my house in August while
I’m away. I really appreciate it.
getting the ferry over to northern France where I’ll spend a few
days, and then I’m heading to Paris for the rest of the trip. I’ll be
staying with some friends there in the city most of the time. I’ll be
online and will have my phone so you can contact me any time.
My house is fairly small so it shouldn’t be a problem to look after it.
There’s an open plan kitchen/living room downstairs and then a
couple of bedrooms upstairs. You can sleep in the spare bedroom,
which is at the top of the stairs on the right. There’s also a small
garden which you can sit out in when it’s sunny.
The only things I’d like you do to are to make sure you put the bins
out on Tuesday night of the second week as they are collected
Wednesday morning. Also, if you could water all the plants once a
week it would be great. If you go out, please set the alarm as there
have been burglaries in the area recently (I’ll leave you the code by
the door).
Anyway, must get off now. I’ll give you a phone call a few days
before I leave.
Bye for now
Aimee
(244 Words
The Question:
You want to sell your television. You think a friend of yours might like to buy it from
you. Write a letter to your friend.
In your letter:
 Explain why you are selling the television.

 Describe the television.
 Suggest a date when your friend can come and see it.
Write at least 150 words
You do NOT need to write any addresses
Begin your letter as follows:
Dear……..,
Model Answer:
Now take a look at a model answer, and not how it has been organised around the organisation
points (and bullet points of the question).
Dear Gary, [opening salutation]
I hope you are doing well. I’m doing fine, though my life is quite hectic at the moment. I'm
writing to you about my television, which I've decided to sell . [purpose of writing]
As you know, I am moving abroad and there is so much to do! There are a few things that I
can’t take with me because they are too big so I am seeing if any of my friends would be
interested in buying them. One of the things I do not want to take with me is my television. I
think given to cost of shipping it, it would make sense to buy a new one when I get
there. [bullet point 1]
It’s a 32“ flat screen TV, and it’s a Phillips model. It has a USB port so you can just plug in a
thumb drive to watch movies or listen to music. It has great stereo surround sound. It's also a
smart TV so you can get Netflix, YouTube etc. [bullet point 2]
I’m leaving the country at the end of the month, which is only two weeks away. So if you want
to see it, it would be best to come on 20th or 21st. That will give me time to sell it elsewhere if
you are not interested. [bullet point 3]
Ok, I look forward to seeing you. Let me know if you can’t make it. [polite closing sentence]
All the best, [closing salutation]
John.
(202 Words)
Comments
Overall it is a good answer meeting all the requirements.
In terms of its structure/organisation, it starts with a salutation then gives the purpose of
writing.
The IELTS letter then addresses the three key points in the task about the television – why it’s
being sold, its description, and some possible dates.
It is clearly organized with each key point being addressed in a separate paragraph. It then has a
polite closing sentence and the closing salutation.
Regarding some other important points of letters, the tone is appropriate – informal as it is
being sent to a friend (Hope you are doing well…, so much to do!..., All the best...).
There is also evidence of the ability to use a mix of complex sentence structures correctly
(though my life…, because…, that I can’t…, if any of my friends…, which is only…, as
you know…), and correct usage of modality (can’t…, would…, might…, will…).

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ELTS Letter Tenses

In this lesson we’ll take a look at using the right tenses in an

 Say where you are going

IELTS Letter Tenses

The future is phrases such as:

 Verb ‘to be’ + going to

Say where you are going:

Full Model Answer

 Say where you are going

Write at least 150 words

 Explain why you are selling the television.

Write at least 150 words

You do NOT need to write any addresses

Begin your letter as follows:

Dear Gary, [opening salutation]

All the best, [closing salutation]

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